Drobo S vs. Synology 1511+ Performance Numbers

Since I got my Drobo S back up and running with a new power supply, I thought I’d put up some quick performance numbers.  The tests are just copying some DVD images back & forth using Windows Explorer and timing on a stopwatch.

Synology via Gigabit Ethernet

Read: 3920357376B in 53 files, 2 folders from Synology to my Desktop on my Shift PC: 67 seconds = 58512797 B/s = 468.10 megabits / s = 58.5 MB/s (just to put all the units out there in case anybody’s confused)

Write: 3921112106B (same as the test below from the same spot) to Synology: 69 seconds = 56.8MB/s

Drobo S via eSATA

3921112106B in 58 files, 2 folders from Drobo-S to same spot on Shift PC: 49 seconds = 80022696 B/s = 640.18 megabits / s = 80.0 MB/s.

Write: 3921112106B to Synology: 53s = 74 MB/s.

Drobo S wins soundly.  Here’s the summary, again:

  • Drobo S via eSATA: 80.0 MB/s read, 74 MB/s write
  • Synology 1511+ via Gig-E: 58.5 MB/s read, 56.8 MB/s write

Anybody think I can tweak settings to get the Synology to go faster?  Let me know what they are.

11 thoughts on “Drobo S vs. Synology 1511+ Performance Numbers”

  1. Are you suggesting that there is a way to connect the Synology 1511+ via eSATA to the PC? I don’t believe there is.

    The data is exactly what I claimed it to be: a comparison of performance between Synology 1511+ and Drobo S as seen from a PC directly connected to the device.

  2. were the number of drives, brand/model of drives kept the same in both tests?

    also you used different datasets for the test. how silly.

    so far your tests prove nothing. there is no direct comparison.

  3. I agree with Bob, this comparison is faulty at best. You are comparing an eSATA Storage array connected “directly” to the PC vs a NAS connected to your network which in turn is connected to your PC.
    Connecting to your netowrk means you have to go through the router/switch which performs it’s own data analysis before routing it off to you PC.
    This comparison is useless.

  4. The drives are in fact not the same. The Drobo’s drives are significantly slower, older, drives than those in the Synology.

    I used very similar datasets (ripped DVD images), but I did use different ones for each test run to ensure no caching could be done by the OS, the Synology, or the Drobo.

    The tests demonstrate exactly what they claim to; namely, that in my setup, the Drobo-S is faster than the Synology NAS. I expect my setup is likely similar to how most people would set either of these things up. They are meant to be “real world” rather than the synthetic benchmarks it seems you all are looking for.

    Yes. I am comparing an eSATA storage array connected to the PC with a NAS connected to the PC via Gig-E. Do you claim that this comparison is somehow “off limits”? Why? It seems like a pretty reasonable test.

    However, to placate you, I will do one further test when I get a chance. I’ll have the windows PC share out the Drobo and then see how fast another machine sitting next to it on the same Gig-E switch can transfer data from the Drobo. Though that is not really what I wanted to test, it seems maybe you want to know that.

  5. Your “Real World” example is not so real world. As already mentioned you are testing two different types of drive setups, used for different purposes. If someone is buying a NAS drive, to be used as a NAS drive they are doing it so that they don’t need to be tethered to a HD and so they can have shared storage.

    We won’t go into all the details of how the actual HD themselves and the data being stored can make a huge difference but try running this “Real World” test:

    – With the Synology connected to your network via both gigabit port and Drobo to your computer via eSATA, copy files from each HD to 2 or more computers while streaming a movie stored on the HD to your TV. Which one is faster now?

  6. This test is brought to you by techretard.com.

    Lol, I have to agree with the others. This is like comparing the speed of a cheetah to a house cat. This is pretty much pointless and waste of time.

  7. Stupid meaningless comparison. Why did you have a NAS if there was no other computer in the network?

  8. I’ve tried to be as civil as possible, but really it is pretty amusing watching you guys bicker away about my post. I was just trying to share some results of personal tests in order to possibly help other people trying to make a purchasing decision who may not have the same insensitivity to price that I do that lets me just buy everything and try it. Your wealth of ignorance brings me back to the early days of the web and my old page of idiots at school. Good times.

    Anyway, here’s a pro tip: You really can’t always assume that you’re as smart as any other given person on the internet. Yes, 99.7% of people you come across will be just like you, somewhere in the comfortably thick portion of the bell curve within that lies within 3 standard deviations of the mean. But every once in a while, you’ll find yourself way out of your depth, trying to look smart and just making a fool of yourself. You may not even realize you’re doing it.

    You’re like a school of goldfish trying to eat a shark. That’s just not the way it works. Try to learn something rather than simply spout nonsense.

  9. Hi John,

    A common thing most people overlook, is jumbo frames. I don’t have a Synology NAS, but google says this setting is in DSM Control Panel > Network > Network Interface.

    On your PC, go to Device Manager > Network Adaptor > Right click your adaptor > Properties > Advanced > change jumbo packet to 9xxx

    On mac, System Prefs > Network > Select Ethernet > Advanced > Hardware > Configure manually > Set MTU to Jumbo.

    This should increase your speeds to match or exceed eSata. Your Router or Switch has to also support it, most do.

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